For SMU to leap frog two other bye week teams and a winning team is some ACC bias though.
Week 8 Polls - Illinois #22 in AP Poll
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
It is actually more than I expected. Texas has been the most dominant team in football this year (to this point). Texas does play Georgia this week, so there is about a 45% chance (using current betting odds) Oregon is #1 when Illini visit Eugene.
MoCoMdIllini
- Montgomery County, Maryland
Agree 100% They had the best win of the week.
From what we’ve seen so far... the Big Ten teams have basically separated their performance level into thirds.
The top third is the Elite Group. We know all the names. The same ones every year for decades.
The middle group is where The Illini are. In the upper range of the Middle Group but not yet at the Upper Elite level.
And the bottom third are the ones just playing out the string.
If the Illini can at least hold their position the rest of the way it will be a nice positive season. Something to build upon while we hope for a rise soon into the Upper Elite Group.
Establishing that winning culture and expectation of success and making that a routine. And of course... having good luck in The Portal every year.
Confidence without arrogance. Expecting success while never taking that for granted. And never letting the program backslide like the Nebraska program did from the Heights to the Depths. And now as they are moving up again after a long wait.
The top third is the Elite Group. We know all the names. The same ones every year for decades.
The middle group is where The Illini are. In the upper range of the Middle Group but not yet at the Upper Elite level.
And the bottom third are the ones just playing out the string.
If the Illini can at least hold their position the rest of the way it will be a nice positive season. Something to build upon while we hope for a rise soon into the Upper Elite Group.
Establishing that winning culture and expectation of success and making that a routine. And of course... having good luck in The Portal every year.
Confidence without arrogance. Expecting success while never taking that for granted. And never letting the program backslide like the Nebraska program did from the Heights to the Depths. And now as they are moving up again after a long wait.
If Bama leapfrogged them for beating Georgia, Oregon should at least be in the vicinity of doing so for beating Ohio State (who is better than Georgia).
It's 100% the best win in the country thus far.
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Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
So the #1 team who won by 31 to a ranked foe on neutral site, who also went to Big House and won by 19, should be leapfrogged? Just wasn't happening. It is also debatable if the Oregon win last night was the best win this year. Time will tell on that. I would agree if the win came at the Horseshoe, but it was at home.
Oregon is getting the respect they deserve, and they will be #1 next week if Texas loses to Georgia.
Ranking and point spread makes it as close to an even matchup as it gets! Then loud, sold-out home field tilts it in our favor.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Curious -- which 6 are "ELITE"?
So let's see if that theory flies....
SMU moves up 2 spots, because Oklahoma and Utah lost. No biggie, makes total sense. They leapfrogged Illinois, I'm guessing because voters weren't really impressed with the win over Purdue. Could go either way on that one in my view.
The odd one is why would SMU leap Michigan, both of which were idle? Well, I think it's more a case of voter correction, than "ACC bias". See, after last week's loss to Washington, three voters still had Michigan rated 16th, 15th and even *12th*, when their aggregate rating was 24th. Those voter were notabe outliers in the voting distribution. Might even argue this was "B1G bias", right? Ha.
Those three voters were from Raleigh, Auburn and Miami. "ACC country, see!". Yeah, this week, those same three voters have Michigan 18th, 18th, and not rated. Collectively this is much closer to their aggregate rating of 24th.
On the other side of the equation, 2 voters have been pretty heavy on SMU these last couple weeks, and both of them moved the Mustangs up one spot to 15th and 17th on their ballots. Those voters are from New Jersey and South Bend.
One voter moved SMU up from not rated on his week 7 ballot, to 19th this week. That was a TV guy from Spartanburg, SC.
A random sample of three voters who last week didn't rank SMU, but did this week (generally 21st), were from....checks notes....Lansing, MI, Los Angeles, and Cleveland.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
It doesn't help Michigan that Washington got spanked in Iowa City.
